The National Chairman

April 2008

WHAT DO THEY WANT? - TITAN TURN KEYS OR PROFESSIONAL OFFICERS

On the 5th December 2007, Lord Carter published his report. He proposed a significant increase in prison building and underlined an urgent need to improve the way that custody is used, as well as calling for greater efficiently and organisational improvements. The Government, in accepting Lord Carters recommendations have committed themselves to build three large “titan prisons” housing around 2500 prisoners each. One of the questions for the POA on these proposals is what type of officer and what would be the role in these mammoth prisons. At the same time as Carter being introduced the Prisons Service wish to introduce workforce modernisation. This whole process could initiate the biggest change in working practices seen by POA members for over a decade.

The POA is not afraid and never has been of Workforce Reform. The public sector prison service has seen more change over the past five to six years than any other public sector entity. What we face in the future could be the de-skilling of prison staff and a return to the low paid turn key. Nothing in Carter looks at the advancement of professional prison staff. The titan idea seems one borne out of warehousing rather than one of rehabilitation and correcting those causes of re-offending.

The POA stands ready to engage in Workforce Modernisation, that workforce modernisation must mean correctly resourced and fully trained prison staff. It must mean the end of the long hour culture and the reduction in the working week for uniformed staff in England and Wales. We must see an abandonment of this ideological idea that every thing that is private is good and everything that is public is destined for failure.

In recent reports private sector prisons have come in the bottom half of prison service league tables. As the public sector wrestle with old overcrowded accommodation and the private sector can work in purpose built modern prisons, it is the public sector with all the adversity they face that are coming out on top. The Government should abandon any notion of titan prisons being handed over to a failed concept of Privatisation and invest in correct public sector involvement and use the expertise of the public sector to progress our penal system.

We have in recent times had in excess of 82,000 prisoners in our custody; it is the professional men and women of the POA that have kept the overstretched creaking system working. In recent meetings with the Ministry of Justice the POA have offered to help in dealing with the current overcrowding crisis. In those discussions we have set out to the Lord Chancellor that prisons officers are not turn keys but they are the ones with the sound innovative ideas they have and will take the Prison Service out of the crisis. The Ministry of Justice have had to admit that Prison staff deliver an essential service, although this admission has not brought forward the correct financial reward that the members of this union deserve. There is no other public sector entity that is dealing with the crisis the size of what the Prison Service is, whilst at the same time trying to introduce 3% year on year reductions in their budget. The Government should abandon its current fiscal policy of trying to starve the Prison Service of resources at one end and continue to overcrowd it at the other.

The twelve months ahead will, as always be very challenging, we have our Annual Conference in Portsmouth at the beginning May. This should be the time that we make our decisions and policies. At our Special Delegates Conference held on 19th February we passed three substantive motions, there will be more substantive motions to pass at the Annual Conference and we must stand ready to debate the big issues facing this union. Prison staff have never been so much in the public eye as in recent times. As well as having record numbers of prisoners in England and Wales, we also have record numbers in Scotland and we have an ever-changing Prison Service in Northern Ireland. The drive for efficiencies spreads throughout the areas that the POA represents, what we must not do is allow the drive for efficiency to create an unsafe workplace and a de-skilling of POA members. The turn key should be a thing of the past not something that is sought in the future.

I would like to offer my congratulations to Mr Pete McParlin, Mr Steve Bostock, Mr Brian Traynor and Mr Joe Simpson on their re-election to the National Executive Committee. I would also like to welcome Mr Steve Baines from Liverpool on his election to the NEC. I would take this opportunity to commend all those who stood in the most recent NEC election. These elections show how healthy this union is at grass roots level. But each and every member has a duty to use their vote in national elections and we must all work to see a rise in voting figures.

Butler Trust

For the sixth occasion, it was my honour to attend the Butler Trust Annual Award Ceremony at Buckingham Place. I would like to congratulate all POA members and non POA members who received their awards. The award ceremony is testament to the excellent work being done by prison staff and probation staff in the justice system. Long may it be successful.

Colin Moses
National Chairman

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